Vampire Weekend Is Looking For The Cool Within The Uncool

Vampire Weekend's last album, Modern Vampires of the City, helped vault it to festival headliner status, and topped year-end best-of lists when it was released. But that was six years ago — and a lot has happened in the time since. One of the main creative forces in the band, Rostam Batmanglij, left the group in early 2016. While the remaining members focused on side projects, voices in the music industry were beginning to float the idea that guitar rock might have slipped out of relevance. And then, of course, came the 2016 presidential election.

This week, the band returns at long last with its fourth LP, Father of the Bride. Lead singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig joined NPR's Audie Cornish to discuss how age, experience and time away have changed his approach to songwriting; addressing politics both on record and onstage with Senator Bernie Sanders; and why, for a group like Vampire Weekend, the decline of guitar rock might not be the worst news. Hear the radio version at the audio link, and read more of their conversation below.